Page 16 of These Wicked Desires

“Um, yeah,” he says, clearing his throat. “We have to keep working on the training thing. I think Sterling wants you to do the wing thing first. Then I want to do some magic work with you. And Kai wants to do some physical training with your wings.”

Ellis deflates and she sticks out her lower lip. “All of that? How about we just do one of those things?”

“Sorry, love.” Cade places a kiss on her forehead. “The sooner we get you ready, the sooner we can rescue your sister.”

She nods, even though her shoulders stay slumped. “Yeah, I know.”

“Meet us downstairs. You have ten minutes.” Cade kisses her forehead again and tugs Kai out of the room.

Ellis turns her pleading gaze to me and I shake my head. “Sorry, kitten. That look won’t work on me.”

Her pout turns into a glare and I can’t help but chuckle. It’s adorable how fierce she thinks she is. Then she blinks and the glare disappears, replaced by a spark in her eyes that I know means trouble. “Ooor,” she drawls, taking a step closer so she can run her hands down my chest. “We could finish what you started …”

“You mean before you broke my nose?” I grab her hands as her fingers loop in the waistband of my sweats.

She steps closer and arches her back, rubbing her hips against mine. Fucking temptress. “Come on, Sterling. I know you want to.”

I groan, because I really fucking want to. But Cade and Kai are waiting downstairs and we really do have a lot we need work on. I take her face in my hands and lean in, stopping just shy of our lips meeting. “Get dressed, kitten.” I step back and she stumbles forward, her balance thrown off from leaning forward into the almost kiss. An indignant sound escapes her and I grin, backing toward the door. “Cade said ten minutes. You’re probably down to seven by now.”

Her curses follow me down the stairs.

“Good, but next time I want you to react quicker.” Cade and Ellis have been working on magic lessons for the past forty minutes, and Ellis’s reactions have been progressively getting slower as she tires.

“I’m trying, Cade,” she says, a hint of whine in her voice.

Kai and I are sitting in the grass, leaning against the cabin. His head has been tipped toward the sky, watching the stars twinkle and the moon slowly drift across the black expanse. I’ve been watching Ellis.

Sometimes it still hits me unexpectedly that she’s my mate. I went so long watching from afar, keeping our bond secret from everyone. Being able to act on it, to act on my feelings for her, has been mindblowing. I’m not sure I’ll ever really get over that. And having things restored with me and the guys has been great too. I missed them. My wolf missed them. Even with everything we’re dealing with, the little glimpses of what life could be like with Ellis and the three of us, makes my wolf incredibly happy. His pack is whole, and that’s all that matters.

Cade fires off two blasts of magic, one right after the other, and Ellis barely manages to duck out of the way of the second. She gives Cade an incredulous look, the wings behind her back shuffling with irritation.

“Do you think she could learn to fly?” I ask Kai quietly.

He shifts his gaze to the pair practicing magic. “I bet she could, but my guess is she’ll never learn. The amount of core strength it would require would deter her from ever trying. Once all of this is over, she’ll probably put those things away and never get them back out again. And I can’t say I blame her.” He shrugs as he watches Ellis try to block Cade’s magic with her own. “She’s never really lived a normal life. Even after we get through this, her life won’t be normal. Being fated to three guys?” He snorts and shakes his head.

I nod in agreement. “Yeah, but we can make it as normal as possible for her.”

“Oh, for sure. We wi—” Kai cuts off as the sound of a car rumbling up the mountain reaches our ears.

We both stand and walk to the front of the house, Cade and Ellis following behind after a moment for Ellis to tuck those wings away. When the person behind the wheel becomes visible, my stomach flips over. Ellis gasps and comes to stand next to me, wrapping herself around my arm.

“Is that …” she asks, trailing off.

I nod. “Yeah.”

The car parks and Cole hops out, his gaze traveling over the four of us standing in front of the cabin. When it lands on me and Ellis, his jaw tightens and he slams the car door shut.

“Let’s give them some privacy,” Cade says quietly, tugging Kai away.

“You okay?” Ellis asks, peering up at me.

I look down at her and my heart breaks seeing the concern and care in her amber eyes. “Hopefully. I guess it will depend on how this goes.”

Before I can turn back to my brother, Ellis stands on her toes and takes my face in her hands. “No matter what happens, I’m here. Just say the word.” She lifts a little higher to place a soft kiss on my lips. “I love you, Sterling.”

I can’t stop myself. My hands tangle in her curls and I hold her to me, deepening the kiss. “I love you too, kitten,” I whisper against her mouth.

When she pulls away, she levels a stare at Cole, and my mouth quirks into a smile. No matter how fierce she tries to be, she just looks adorable to me. With a final parting glare, she turns around and follows Cade and Kai.

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